Lets be honest: It is a tough landscape today for musicals that feature more classical-oriented music scores. There was a brief time between 2013-2015 when it seemed like the tide might be somewhat shifting back toward ‘legit’-esque musicals with Broadway shows like A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, The Bridges of Madison County, Doctor Zhivago, Amazing Grace, and a few others. However, most of those shows flopped commercially, and the environment hasn’t really turned back that way since. Even Broadway revivals of Golden Age musicals often don’t feature the same type of singing they once did. With those things said, there have still been some wonderful contemporary ‘legit’ pieces written by theatre songwriters over the past few decades.
Below, I’ve compiled a list of one hundred great legit-oriented musical theatre songs for baritones and tenors from the past 30 years or so. If you need more song suggestions– and/or you just want to support my work– I released a repertoire guide featuring 300(!) contemporary musical theatre songs for ‘legit’ baritones & tenors here. The list below is just a sampling of songs you’ll find in that more wide-reaching guide. I also have other repertoire guides available in the MTR store. I hope you find this blog post useful regardless!
1. “Testimony” from Amazing Grace (2015)
Music & Lyrics by Christopher Smith | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
2. “It All Fades Away” from The Bridges of Madison County (2014)
Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
3. “I Thought That I Could Live” from Death Takes a Holiday (2011)
Music & Lyrics by Maury Yeston | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
4. “Where Are All the People?” from Chaplin (2006)
Music & Lyrics by Christopher Curtis | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
5. “How It Ends” from Big Fish (2013)
Music & Lyrics & Lyrics by Andrew Lippa | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
6. “First You Dream” from Steel Pier (1997)
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
7. “I Miss the Music” from Curtains (2007)
Music & Lyrics by John Kander | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
8. “No Mercy at All” from Doctor Zhivago (2015)
Music by Lucy Simon; Lyrics by Michael Korie & Amy Powers | Sheet Music: SheetMusicDirect
9. “Sibella” from A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (2013)
Music by Steven Lutvak; Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman & Steven Lutvak | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
10. “As Good As You” from Jane Eyre (2000)
Music & Lyrics by Paul Gordon | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
11. “Hero and Leander” from Myths and Hymns (1998)
Music & Lyrics by Adam Guettel | Sheet Music: Vocal Selections
12. “Everything to Win” from Anastasia (2017)
Music by Stephen Flaherty; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
13. “At the Fountain” from Sweet Smell of Success (2002)
Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyrics by Craig Carnelia | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
14. “‘Til I Hear You Sing” from Love Never Dies (2010)
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by Glenn Slater | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
15. “Before the Summer Ends” from Dracula (2004)
Music by Frank Wildhorn; Lyrics by Christopher Hampton & Don Black | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
16. “I Never Knew” from Far From Heaven (2013)
Music by Scott Frankel; Lyrics by Michael Korie | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
17. “Make Them Hear You” from Ragtime (1998)
Music by Stephen Flaherty; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
18. “Take a Chance on Me” from Little Women (2005)
Music by Jason Howland; Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
19. “Charity” from Daddy Long Legs (2015)
Music & Lyrics by Paul Gordon | Sheet Music: NewMusicalTheatre
20. “Edges of the World” from Fun Home (2015)
Music by Jeanine Tesori; Lyrics by Lisa Kron | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
21. “Night Will Come” from Groundhog Day (2017)
Music & Lyrics by Tim Minchin | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
22. “How Glory Goes” from Floyd Collins (1996)
Music & Lyrics by Adam Guettel | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
23. “Dust and Ashes” from Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (2016)
Music & Lyrics by Dave Malloy | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
24. “The Man I Used to Be” from The Count of Monte Cristo (2009)
Music by Frank Wildhorn; Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
25. “I’ll Be There” from The Pirate Queen (2007)
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyrics by Alain Boublil, Richard Maltby Jr & John Dempsey| Sheet Music: MusicNotes
26. “After All This Time” from Lestat (2006)
Music by Elton John; Lyrics by Bernie Taupin | Sheet Music: see full score
27. “Private Property” from Giant (2012)
Music & Lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa | Sheet Music: SheetMusicNow
28. “We Will Always Walk Together” from Dream True (1999)
Music & Lyrics by Ricky Ian Gordon | Sheet Music: SheetMusicDirect
29. “Love Can’t Happen” from Grand Hotel (1989)
Music & Lyrics by Maury Yeston | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
30. “Flight” from Cast of Thousands (1998)
Music & Lyrics by Craig Carnelia | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
31. “She Was There” from The Scarlet Pimpernel (1997)
Music by Frank Wildhorn; Lyrics by Nan Knighton | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
32. “I Was Here” from The Glorious Ones (2007)
Music by Stephen Flaherty; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
33. “Evermore Without You” from The Woman in White (2005)
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by David Zippel | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
34. “I Am Aldolpho” from The Drowsy Chaperone (2006)
Music & Lyrics by Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
35. “Passeggiata” from The Light in the Piazza (2005)
Music & Lyrics by Adam Guettel | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
36. “Bring Me Giants” from Cyrano de Bergerac (2009)
Music by Frank Wildhorn; Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse | Sheet Music: TuneScribers
37. “The Coming of the Dawn” from Frankenstein (2007)
Music & Lyrics by Mark Baron | Sheet Music: MuseScore
38. “Isn’t That Always the Way” from A Little Princess (2005)
Music by Barbara Anselmi; Lyrics by Brian Hargrove | Sheet Music: Vocal Selections
39. “Albertine’s Last Letter” from My Life with Albertine (2003)
Music & Lyrics by Ricky Ian Gordon | Sheet Music: Vocal Selections
40. “Sonnet 29” from My Lifelong Song (2011)
Music by Georgia Stitt; Text by William Shakespeare | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
41. “You Are Here” from I Am Harvey Milk (2013)
Music & Lyrics by Andrew Lippa | Sheet Music: Andrew Lippa Songbook
42. “Part of a Painting” from Edges (2005)
Music by Benj Pasek; Lyrics by Justin Paul | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
43. “The Only One” from The Visit (2015)
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb | Sheet Music: see full score
44. “Bui-Doi” from Miss Saigon (1991)
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyrics by Alain Boublil & Richard Maltby Jr. | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
45. “What Say You Meg?” from The Last Ship (2014)
Music & Lyrics by Sting | Sheet Music: SheetMusicDirect
46. “It’s Hard to Speak My Heart” from Parade (1998)
Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
47. “The Day After That” from Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993)
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
48. “Barrett’s Song” from Titanic (1997)
Music & Lyrics by Maury Yeston | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
49. “I Can’t Recall” from A Tale of Two Cities (2009)
Music & Lyrics by Jill Santoriello | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
50. “Where in the World” from The Secret Garden (1991)
Music by Lucy Simon; Lyrics Marsha Norman | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
51. “Truly Alive” from Amazing Grace (2015)
Music & Lyrics by Christopher Smith | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
52. “Wondering” from The Bridges of Madison County (2014)
Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
53. “Roberto’s Eyes” from Death Takes a Holiday (2011)
Music & Lyrics by Maury Yeston | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
54. “The Life That You Wished For” from Chaplin (2006)
Music & Lyrics by Christopher Curtis | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
55. “Stranger” from Big Fish (2013)
Music & Lyrics & Lyrics by Andrew Lippa | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
56. “Tell My Father” from The Civil War (1997)
Music by Frank Wildhorn; Lyrics by Jack Murphy | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
57. “All I Am” from An American Victory (2015)
Music & Lyrics by Louis R. Bucalo | Sheet Music: see full score
58. “Who Is She?” from Doctor Zhivago (2015)
Music by Lucy Simon; Lyrics by Michael Korie & Amy Powers | Sheet Music: SheetMusicDirect
59. “Foolish to Think” from A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (2013)
Music by Steven Lutvak; Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman & Steven Lutvak | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
60. “Farewell Good Angel” from Jane Eyre (2000)
Music & Lyrics by Paul Gordon | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
61. “Saturn Returns” from Myths and Hymns (1998)
Music & Lyrics by Adam Guettel | Sheet Music: Vocal Selections
62. “Still” from Anastasia (2017)
Music by Stephen Flaherty; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
63. “Painter’s Song” from Amour (2002)
Music by Michael Legrand; Lyrics by Jeremy Sams | Sheet Music: see full score
64. “Why Does She Love Me?” from Love Never Dies (2010)
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by Glenn Slater | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
65. “The Longer I Live” from Dracula (2004)
Music by Frank Wildhorn; Lyrics by Christopher Hampton & Don Black | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
66. “Wandering Eyes” from Far From Heaven (2013)
Music by Scott Frankel; Lyrics by Michael Korie | Sheet Music: see full score
67. “If I Can’t Love Her” from Beauty and the Beast (1994)
Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Tim Rice | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
68. “How I Am” from Little Women (2005)
Music by Jason Howland; Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
69. “The Man I’ll Never Be” from Daddy Long Legs (2015)
Music & Lyrics by Paul Gordon | Sheet Music: NewMusicalTheatre
70. “Without Your Music” from Phantom (1991)
Music & Lyrics by Maury Yeston | Sheet Music: see full score
71. “He Plays the Cello” from Songs from an Unmade Bed (2005)
Music by Jeffrey Stock; Lyrics by Mark Campbell | Sheet Music: see full score
72. “I Need to Know” from Jekyll & Hyde (1997)
Music by Frank Wildhorn; Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse| Sheet Music: MusicNotes
73. “The Great Comet of 1812” from Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (2016)
Music & Lyrics by Dave Malloy | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
74. “How Will I Know?” from Rudolf: Affaire Mayerling (2006)
Music by Frank Wildhorn; Lyrics by Jack Murphy & Nan Knighton | Sheet Music: see full score
75. “Me” from Beauty and the Beast (1994)
Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Tim Rice | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
76. “Sail Me Away” from Lestat (2006)
Music by Elton John; Lyrics by Bernie Taupin | Sheet Music: see full score
77. “Did Spring Come to Texas?” from Giant (2012)
Music & Lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa | Sheet Music: see full score
78. “When the Earth Stopped Turning” from Elegies (2003)
Music & Lyrics by William Finn | Sheet Music: SheetMusicNow
79. “Warm Spring Night” from King David (1997)
Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Tim Rice | Sheet Music: see full score
80. “Love Can’t Happen” from Grand Hotel (1989)
Music & Lyrics by Maury Yeston | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
81. “The Falcon in the Dive” from The Scarlet Pimpernel (1997)
Music by Frank Wildhorn; Lyrics by Nan Knighton | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
82. “The World Inside a Frame” from The Bridges of Madison County (2014)
Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
83. “You Can Get Away with Anything” from The Woman in White (2005)
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by David Zippel | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
84. “Sennett Song” from Chaplin (2006)
Music & Lyrics by Christopher Curtis | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
85. “Il Mondo Era Vuoto” from The Light in the Piazza (2005)
Music & Lyrics by Adam Guettel | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
86. “Drift Away” from Grey Gardens (2006)
Music by Scott Frankel; Lyrics by Michael Korie | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
87. “These Hands” from Frankenstein (2007)
Music & Lyrics by Mark Baron | Sheet Music: see full score
88. “Her Voice” from The Little Mermaid (2008)
Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Glenn Slater | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
89. “The Different Albertines” from My Life with Albertine (2003)
Music & Lyrics by Ricky Ian Gordon | Sheet Music: Vocal Selections
90. “If I Could” from My Lifelong Song (2011)
Music by Sam Davis; Lyrics by Georgia Stitt | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
91. “Unexpressed” from It’s Only Life (2006)
Music & Lyrics by John Bucchino | Sheet Music: Songwriter Site
92. “Why Can’t I Kiss You?” (2010)
Music & Lyrics by Jeff Blumenkrantz | Sheet Music: Songwriter Site
93. “Made of Stone” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1999/2014)
Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
94. “She’s a Woman” from Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993)
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
95. “Marry Well” from Grey Gardens (2006)
Music by Scott Frankel; Lyrics by Michael Korie | Sheet Music: see full score
96. “This Is Not Over Yet” from Parade (1998)
Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
97. “New Words” from The Maury Yeston Songbook (album; 2003)
Music & Lyrics by Maury Yeston | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
98. “The Proposal” from Titanic (1997)
Music & Lyrics by Maury Yeston | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
99. “Reflection” from A Tale of Two Cities (2009)
Music & Lyrics by Jill Santoriello | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
100. “Race You to the Top of the Morning” from The Secret Garden (1991)
Music by Lucy Simon; Lyrics Marsha Norman | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
Need more musical theatre song suggestions? Check out my professional repertoire guides here.